1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to an error correcting programmable pulse generator, and more particularly to a programmable pulse generator that removes errors due to manufacturing tolerances, power supply variations, and temperature.
2. Description of Related Art
Today's wireless communications markets are being driven by a multitude of user benefits. Products such as cellular phones, cordless phones, pagers, and the like have freed corporate and individual users from their desks and homes and are driving the demand for additional equipment and systems to increase their utility. As a result digital radio personal communications devices will play an increasingly important role in the overall communications infrastructure in the next decade.
Mixed-signal integration and power management have taken on added importance now that analog and mixed analog-digital ICs have become the fastest-growing segment of the semiconductor industry. Integration strategies for multimedia consoles, cellular telephones and battery-powered portables are being developed, as well as applications for less integrated but highly specialized building blocks that serve multiple markets. These building blocks include pulse generators, data converters, comparators, demodulators, filters, amplifiers and voltage regulators.
One important aspect of electronic devices is the effect of external conditions, such as temperature, imposed on the circuit. In a typical circuit, a voltage can be regulated by controlling its current as a function of the result of the actual voltage output and a predetermined reference voltage. The reference voltage may be constant, but it would be desirable under certain conditions to vary the voltage as a function of temperature or other variables. Nevertheless, there are some key barriers to realizing these desirable conditions.
A large number of integrated circuits are programmable. These circuits are widely used in a variety of programmable devices. Devices such as programmable logic arrays (PAL), integrated fuse logic (IFL), bipolar programmable read only memory (BPROM), erasable programmable read only (EPROM), and other conventional types of circuits require a reference voltage that can vary as a function of temperature, supply and other manufacturing process variations. In a programming process, the integrated circuit programmer must provide a pulse signal that is programmable and will include processes that remove errors due to manufacturing tolerances, power supply variations, and temperature. Currently this is being accomplished by using different hardware circuits for each logic device. However, this is an uneconomical process.
It can be seen then that there is a need for an error correcting programmable pulse generator that removes errors due to manufacturing tolerances, power supply variation, and temperature.
It can also be seen that there is a need for an error correcting programmable pulse generator that controls amplitude, rise and fall time and the average level of a voltage pulse.